On the grapevine

Andrew Wigan, chief winemaker at the Peter Lehmann winery in Australia's Barossa Valley will present a tasting of a selection of his wines with a four-course dinner at Ripley Castle on Friday May 21. He will bring a selection of vintages of the Stonewell Shiraz, going back to 1989 which was the first vintage to be entirely barrel-fermented.

Old vintages of this wine sold out years ago so this is probably your only chance to taste them. Tickets cost 120 and the event is to celebrate the first 10 years of Nidderdale Fine Wine. Ring them on 01423 711703 to book.

Tell-tale clue

The International Wine Challenge reports that cork-related faults have tumbled and are now out-stripped by oxidation and reduction problems. These faults are caused by problems with the closure allowing, or not allowing, air into the wine. It means some wines may acquire stinky off-flavours. What can you do about it? Not a lot, but if a wine smells of nail-polish or farmyards then you may have found one.

Sparkling idea

If you need lots of champagne, then a new web business might be worth a look. www.champagne direct.co.uk is in Birstall and offers a wide range of champagnes at competitive prices.

YP MAG 1/5/10